Elizaveta GAUFMAN, 2023. Everyday foreign policy. Performing and consuming the Russian Nation after Crimea, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 200 p.
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Russia's 2022 full scale invasion of Ukraine initiated a vivid scholarly debate about the relevance of realist approaches to the study of the Russian foreign policy, especially through the lens of Russia's geopolitical interests (e.g., Kazharski 2022, McCallion 2023, Umland 2023).Since then, many academic publications on Russian foreign policy have claimed to "present alternatives to the mainstream realist view" (e.g., Christoffersen 2022).Dr Elizaveta Gaufman's 2023 book, Everyday Foreign Policy: Performing and consuming the Russian nation after Crimea, is therefore timely.It is a fascinating post-structuralist analysis that allows us to gain a deeper understanding not only of Russian foreign policy but also of Russian society.The book covers the period from the annexation of Crimea to the start of the large-scale war.In line with her post-structuralist approach, Gaufman does not formulate research questions such as "Why did Russia stage a large-scale invasion of Ukraine?", that would imply identifying causes.Instead, Gaufman analyzes the ordinary Kremlin supporter's interpretation of the world and foreign policy to understand their discourse and actions.In this way she sheds light on the mutually constitutive relationship between the Kremlin's foreign policy and the Russians' perceptions of national identity.The book implicitly suggests some explanations for the large-scale aggression, because it shows that the growth of the Kremlin's rhetoric of "great power" after Crimea generally resonated well with Vladimir Putin's supporters.
Author: Ekaterina Pierson-Lyzhina
Institution: Université Libre de Bruxelles
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4405715013